New Love
by BEN-Beyond the Elusive Nomads
Summary: Alternate Season 3. Buffy finally finds herself moving on – just not on to who she expected. Written for AU Bingo on LJ.


**Title:** New Love  
**Prompt:**Alternate History: Authors Choice (Someone died/didn't come back)  
**Medium:** Fic  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Warnings:**Adult Language

**Summary:**Alternate Season 3. Buffy finally finds herself moving on – just not on to who she expected.

Buffy was miserable half the time, and the other half she was barely making it. Ever since she had to deal with Debbie and Pete's crazy romance-gone-wrong she just couldn't see relationships as anything other than sources of pain and unhappiness. Faith didn't seem to really understand, but she was there for her, and Buffy found herself leaning on her more and more. Since Faith was new to the Scoobies she could just be there for Buffy, not remember how Angelus ruined their lives.

But Faith wasn't always available. She had duties as a Slayer, duties that Buffy was taking less and less care of. Faith was a godsend, despite the awkward 'she's stealing my life' phase, and had made Buffy's life just that much easier.

And Faith was the reason Buffy was sitting miserably in Willy's Bar, dinking away her sorrows. Willy didn't care that she was underage (mostly because she threatened to beat him up) as long as she didn't kill anyone or start any fights. Sure he was upset that the demon community didn't take long to leave, but with a Slayer glare it shut him up real fast.

The door slammed open and someone obviously already drunk stumbled in. She didn't bother looking up, not caring because she knew that if she started a fight then Willy would cut her off.

"Bloody hell! Wha's the Slayer doin' in here?"

Well, that caught her attention. She glanced up at the drunk-off-his-ass Spike and waved him over.

"Come on, sit down, have a drink!" she slurred out, "I'm not the Slayer tonight, so this is a free pass. Of course, if you try something funny I'll have to stake you."

She turned back to the counter and her drink, barely hiding a smile at the dumbfounded look on his face. She listened as he cautiously approached and took a seat one space away and ordered a bottle of JD.

"What d'ya mean you're not the Slayer tonight?" Spike asked after a second, "Didn' know tha' was a job you could jus' take a night off on."

"It is when you've got another Slayer watching your back." Buffy countered, "Remember Kendra? Her replacement came in about a month ago."

"So I've got two Slayers to watch out for now?" Spike asked.

"Yup. Might wanna behave while your in town, or you'll get two Slayers after you." Buffy said before taking another drink, "Why are you back here anyway? Thought I told you not to come back."

"Well, thought gettin' you head on a silver platter might appease Dru, the dozy bint." Spike muttered the last bit under his breath. "But now that jus' seems like a lot 'f work."

"What, crazy ho bag left you?" Buffy asked, before snorting, "Didn't see _that_ one comin'."

Spike ignored the sarcasm and said in a surprisingly sad voice, "I mean, she wouldn't even kill me. She just left. She didn't even care enough to cut off my head or…or set me on fire. I mean, is that too much to ask? You know, some little sign that she cared?"

Buffy didn't know how to answer that, so she just nodded him on and took a sip of her drink.

"It was that truce that did it." Spike continued, his voice turning indignant. "Dru said I'd gone soft. Wasn't demon enough for the likes of her. And I told her it didn't mean anything, I was thinking of her the whole time, but she didn't care.

"So, we got to Brazil and she was... she was just different. I gave her everything. Beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses with beautiful girls in them, but nothing made her happy."

And then his voice took on a slightly comical tone, as it did when people tell stories, and Buffy just continued to listen intently, suddenlt enthralled with his story.

"So I'm strolling through the park looking for a meal, and I happen to walk by and she's making out with the Chaos Demon. And so I said, "You know, I don't have to put up with this." And she said, "Fine." So I said, "Fine! Do whatever you like." I mean, I thought we were gonna make up, you know?"

"Drusilla's a bitch." Buffy intoned suddenly, "I mean, there were way better ways she could have gone about that. I mean, letting you catch her cheating? Course, I can't really think of a better way to do that. My last boyfriend decided that killing my computer teacher was a good way to dump me."

"Well, Angelus was always a prick." Spike agreed, "But me an' Dru, this was different. Our love was eternal. Literally. Hey, Willy, you got another bottle?"

"You know what? Alcohol isn't going to make our problems just…just disappear!" Buffy cried out suddenly, making Willy freeze and Spike shoot her a confused look – either that or it was the alcohol making him look so confused. She didn't really know.

"Yeah? What is?" Spike asked.

"My mother." Buffy said firmly, nodding her head, "She always knows what to say to make you feel better, and I bet she could help you too."

Spike looked at her closely. How drunk was the Slayer exactly that she would basically invite him into her house to talk with her mother? Not that he would do anything. Seemed like a right nice lady, Joyce.

"Sh-She also makes this hot chocolate, and I don't know how she does it, but it's some of the best hot chocolate I've ever had." Buffy added, her mouth watering at the thought.

Spike perked up, "Does she have those lil' marshmallows?"

Buffy thought for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, I think so."

"Then le's go visit the Slayer's mum." Spike agreed, standing with a flourish and stumbling backward slightly. Buffy nodded, placed down a few bills for Willy, and grabbed Spike's arm for a source of balance.

"Did this bar always spin like this?" Buffy asked woozily. Spike furrowed his brows and looked around.

"Maybe. Don't remember. It adds to the place, though, don' you think?"

"I-I think that I really need some hot chocolate right now." Buffy groaned as she tugged on his arm, "C'mon, let's go."

"Right! Hot chocolate!"

.

Joyce sighed as she looked down at the duo passed out in her living room, curled into each other like a pair of newborn puppies. Normally Joyce would have grounded Buffy for her drunken state, but after seeing her laugh for the first time in months, she decided that just tonight she would let it go. And the fact that Spike had showed up to say hello was an added bonus – he was such a sweet boy.

Joyce sighed and went back to the kitchen, picking up the phone and calling Faith, "Hello, Faith? This is Ms. Summers, Buffy's mom? I just wanted to tell you that there's a vampire in town, Spike, and I think you should leave what happens to him to Buffy."

"Sure thing, Ms. S." Faith agreed, "How is B doin' anyway?"

Joyce took another look in the living room and smiled slightly before saying,

"I think she's going to be just fine."


End file.
